Israel, much like the fortress of Tel-Chai that Jospeh Trumpeldor fought to defend against Arab conquerors in 1920, finds itself beseiged by enemies both within and without. Terrorists, would-be friends inside and outside Israel, and even bad government officials. Here are the discussions of one proud Zionist resident on the state of the nation and abroad.

A hundred security cameras will be installed on public lampposts throughout the Midwood and Borough Park neighborhoods in the coming months — the result of a $1 million state grant secured in the wake of a horrifying tragedy: the 2011 abduction, dismemberment and murder of an 8-year-old Hasidic boy named Leiby Kletzky.

The taxpayer-funded security system will augment an already insular Orthodox community that has its own volunteer police force, ambulances and schools.

[...] [Dov] Hikind insists the cameras are necessary in the Jewish neighborhoods, where he said the potential for crime — if not actual crime — was ever-present.

"It's not that we have more crime than another community, but being that it's a Jewish area, there's probably at least the potential for more anti-Semitic acts," he said.

In the post-9/11 era, there is good cause for concern here. However, Hikind said something else that raises cause for concern:

Hikind said police and volunteer police groups would have access to the cameras after a significant crime only by making formal requests to Secure Watch 24.

"God forbid something happens, there's an incident, the police will have access to the video tape," he said.

Now wait a minute. What's that supposed to mean if there's an incident? According to the WSJ (via Gothamist), the local civilian patrol was blamed for not contacting the police immediately. This also conflicts with what Hikind told The Forward, that the police would always get to view the security footage first. In a community that's notorious for trying to cover up cases of child abuse, among other problems, this sounds very irresponsible on their part. It sounds like they'll be selective about what video footage is appropriate for the authorities to check. Hikind is not helping protect the community if he sees this as acceptable.

The AP Wire/SF Chronicle already gave a clue when they told that this is an insular community in focus.

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About me

I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.